During CNN 's `` Going Green : Green Light for Business '' coverage , we 've asked businesses to tell us how they balance the imperative for profit with environmental concerns . First up is the co-founder of Hong Kong-based DIAZ Fine Jewelry , Salina Khan Fuchigami , whose business packages cubic zirconia diamonds in an environmental wrapping .

Growing up surrounded by generations of jewelry wearing tradition , I was drawn to the brilliance and transparency of diamonds from an early age . Later , it was the fact that diamonds are a unique resource , evoking beauty and eternal love that lead me to found DIAZ Fine Jewelry .

Salina Khan Fuchigami co-founded DIAZ Fine Jewelry with her husband Takashi .

However , as I began to learn beyond the basics and beauty of diamonds , I began to discover the many environmental and ethical issues related to them . And the once simple wish to create a line of exquisite diamond jewelry grew into a mission -- to create an ecologically and ethically correct jewelry brand .

I was one of many who were understandably concerned to learn that jewelry they had as a symbol of love may have come at a terrible human and environmental cost . Although the social and ethical issues associated with conflict diamonds were the impetus at the core of the DIAZ philosophy , the serious environmental impacts of the diamond industry could not be ignored .

There 's an undeniable link between the degradation of our global environment and consumer culture . The trouble is that these days , things are so nicely packaged , presented and displayed that we hardly ever question how the raw materials used to produce the goods are extracted and processed . We rarely think of how it all affects the environment and humankind . It 's impossible to assess exactly how much devastation one single diamond could have caused before it was cut , polished , set and sold at a high-end retailer . It 's hard to imagine what a diamond mine looks like by looking at the `` stunning sparklers '' that are neatly displayed in shop windows . Somewhere along the way it became irrelevant to question the true cost of the stones .

Diamond mining practices are not without huge ecological impacts . Whether extracted from a large-scale diamond mine using modern , clinical mining methods , or through small-scale artisanal alluvial diamond digging , the diamond industry faces environmental challenges just as with any mineral extraction . Land disturbance , which involves the shifting of large quantities of soil from the earth , is interlinked with issues of waste and water pollution as well as huge impacts on biodiversity .

Through my company , I knew I could offer an alternative to mined-diamond jewelry of equal beauty and quality -- using lab-created jewels and meticulous craftsmanship -- jewelry that evoked beauty and eternal love , and that was truly transparent .

As with any environmental or ethical issue , education , knowledge and action are the keys to ending unnecessary harm . So , as the business grew , we made sure each of our customers received an info-leaflet with every purchase . We began donating proceeds from our sales to grassroots organizations that ran mine-reclamation projects promoting organic farming and biodiversity in mining towns in Sierra Leone , a country devastated by civil war that was fueled by diamonds and now has a landscape scarred by indiscriminate alluvial diamond mining . We began monitoring the working conditions at our workshop , and looking for more sustainable methods of packaging and delivering our jewelry .

We found that our customers were happy to be a part of a solution and not the problem . The economic downturn , combined with an increasing awareness of the ecological and ethical facts surrounding diamonds , has meant an increase in customers who appreciate affordable luxury without any attached guilt .

There 's no doubt that the choices we make and the actions we take today affect the fate of our planet and in turn our well being . With shifting consumer behavior and a changing economic and environmental climate , the time has come where being environmentally conscious is an imperative for all individuals and businesses alike .

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CNN has asked businesses to explain their concept of `` Going Green ''

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Jeweler Salina Khan Fuchigami uses cubic zirconia instead of diamonds

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Khan Fuchigami : `` Diamond mining practices have huge ecological impacts ''

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Blog series is part of CNN 's `` Going Green '' coverage from June 15 to July 10